Celebrate Yourself Early and Often — And Escape the Holidays — In This Soft Yet Durable Open Thread

While I am taking off writing any real Open Thread intro for the holidays, at least I am posting this column early, to give you extra time over the long holiday weekend to talk to each other about the myriad issues that come up over a long holiday weekend — in particular this family-reuniony one, in particular this divisive year, in particular I'm just dying to hear what you have to report on throughout the next four days. I will be reporting in also, and using this as a nice break from my physical world.

Also, let's talk about the food we liked and didn't like, etc, etc. And you always make my day when you answer any or all of these questions, whether you like them or are just too tryptophan'd out to think of anything to say on your own:

What scent do you like most in candle form? (Or do you hate scented candles?)

Do you have health insurance?

Are anniversaries a big deal to you?

Have you ever boycotted anything?

Do you look the way your child self thought you would at this age?

And you know the deal about writing whatever rando crap or beautiful poetry or posting hiccupy emojis or gifs or fill-in-the-blank whatevers you want in these comments. They are a free-for-all and if you say too much or don't make sense, you can always claim later that you were drunk when you wrote it and anyway, no one will care.

This is one of the few truly judgment-free zones I have ever found and I want you to thoroughly take advantage of that fact. If you're new here and therefore didn't know those rules, try typing in the comments below the simple phrase "hi, I am new to posting here." The love that will flow your way will overwhelm any negative forces around you this holiday season. That I promise.